


The Interludes

by Smuttysmutwriter



Series: Had We But World Enough series [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Childhood, F/M, Feminization, Genderfluid Character, Growing Up, Intersexuality, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-17
Updated: 2012-12-24
Packaged: 2017-11-21 09:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/595930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smuttysmutwriter/pseuds/Smuttysmutwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of Preludes to Had We But World Enough, it really helps if you've read that first.  </p>
<p>The Allfather has conquered Jotunheim and has bought Laufey's youngest, Loki, to live in Asgard to be raised as Thor's future wife and also to ensure Laufey's continued obedience to Asgard.  </p>
<p>But Asgard will not tolerate a second King sitting beside Thor...Asgard has always, and will always need an Allmother.  </p>
<p>A series of snapshots of life for Thor and Loki as they grow up together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Return of the Conquering Hero

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing these as I was writing HWBWE and posted them on my tumblr as I wrote them. I'm posting them here chronologically though they weren't written in that order. As such, there are big leaps in time between some of the individual chapters, not so big ones between others. 
> 
> A bit warning, these fics focus fairly heavily on Loki being feminized and groomed into what Asgard wants him to be. If that isn't your thing then you probably shouldn't read this. 
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy. :)

“You half blind idiot!”

Odin ducked, the dagger expertly thrown by his dearest wife and Queen missing him by mere inches and embedding itself in the tapestry portrait of his mother, Queen Bestla.

Right between the eyes. Good shot!

“You insufferable, pig headed, thoughtless moron!” Frigga picked up a nearby vase and threw it as well, the red porcelain shattering as it hit the wall. Odin ducked behind the couch. His wife was not taking his news as well as could be expected.

“Decades! Decades I have been negotiating with the Vanir and you make it all for naught with one word!”

“My sweet fig,” Odin dared poke his head over the back of the chair, “the Vanir need your trade treaty as much as we do. The majority of it can remain in place…and it is not as if the marriage was ever set in stone.”

“Freya is already living here, we have already sent our own representative to the Court of Vanaheim. It was all but done, Borson! Insult to my people such as this will not be easily forgotten!” Frigga snarled, looking around herself for something else to throw. 

“They will get over it!” Odin stood now, all nearby projectiles having been exhausted, “I had thought you would be a little more pleased that I have ended a war which has waged from the dawn of time!”

“Oh yes, we shall see how long your peace lasts!” Frigga stalked over and poked Odin the chest, “Do you honestly believe the Court will accept a Jotnar sitting beside Thor, a second king of Asgard!? Did you lose part of your brain when Farbauti took your eye? How long do you think our Realm will last without an Allmother? Who will call the harvest? Who will lead the weaving? Who will bless the births?”

“There will be no second king!” Odin roared, “He is Jotnar, it’s all one and the same with them. We will raise him to be a queen!”

Frigga took a step back. Odin breathed heavily through his nose, "You will have your Allmother, fig. One you can mold as you see fit."

“Raise him?” Frigga looked at her husband askance, she raised one eyebrow, “You mean to tell me you convinced Laufey to give up his child?”

“Well, not immediately,” Odin shifted where he stood, the anger in the room dissipating slightly, “He’s only a few months old. We have agreed he will come when he is five.”

Frigga folded her arms, regarding her husband carefully. That changed things a little, not much…but a little. If the child was raised here it would be a constant show of Jotunheim’s subservience to Asgard, a reminder to all of the Nine Realms of the Allfather’s might. And she would have this one at five, that was younger than Freya was now, a better age to start learning...

“And you are satisfied with promising our son, your heir, to some red eyed monster? They’re cute when they’re small but mark my words he’ll be twelve foot tall before you know it!”

“A seidr gifted red eyed monster, my honeybee, and a runt at that. When I held him he was barely the size of an Aesir babe. His skin changes with a touch to a much more pleasing hue as well. Quite cute really…”

“Tch, _you’ll_ be wanting to marry one next,” Frigga rolled her eyes, letting Odin lead her back to their bed. 

She let herself be laid down on the bed, Odin kissing a path down her neck. 

“Do you know how they found the child, my love?”

“How?”

“You know I wrote you that Farbauti left the battlefield some months ago…”

“I remember.”

“None of our spies could find a reason, there was no rift between her and Laufey, no illness we could see which would cause this. Not even the Jotuns seemed to know why she left.”

Odin pulled at a ribbon on Frigga’s nightgown, pulling it open and sliding a hand inside to fondle a firm breast.

“After a week Laufey grew afraid. He sent his witch Angrboda into the wastes to find her. The witch found only her body, two days dead, curled around the babe. Seidr was the only thing which could have kept such a vulnerable creature alive out there.” 

He pulled Frigga’s nightgown further open, punctuating his words with more kisses. 

“Can you imagine that, my fig, a creature that powerful bound to our Thor? Ours... _yours_ to direct and mold? Think…when they are grown, none will be able to stand in Thor’s way, the Nine Realms will beg to bow before him.”

“Mmm…” Frigga pulled Odin on top of her. He’d been gone so long this time. At least with the war over he would be home now, no more long campaigns, no more months without a single word to know whether he was alive or dead…

“What is his name?”

“What was that?” Odin was distracted, trying to undo the rest of the ribbons on Frigga’s nightgown.

“His name! The name of the child you’ve married our two year old to!”

“You know, I’ve honestly forgotten.”

Frigga laughed. He was playing with her now, evidently tiring of this conversation. 

Well…she was warming to the idea...


	2. Growing Up is Hard to Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years pass... Thor and Loki are growing up. Thor faces the Queen's Court, Loki makes a new friend and we all agree frogs are much cooler than being Queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, Thor is 13, Loki and Sigyn are around 11.

Thor shuffled in his place in front of the gentle gazes of the gathered Ladies in Waiting and his Mother. He loved his Mother, dearly, but venturing into her bower in front of the full gaze of her attendants as they rested back on the many cushions and soft low chairs strewn about was something which made knots form in his stomach. 

His Father had assured him that there was no shame in this anxiety. Even he, the Allfather, was victim to this affliction when faced with the Queen’s Court, telling Thor in a low voice that he’d rather face down a battalion of Jotnar armed with nothing but a spoon than take tea with the Ladies in Waiting. This was of some small comfort.

“Did you want something in particular darling?” Frigga smiled, picking up her tea cup. 

“I was wondering…is Loki allowed to come out today?”

“He isn’t held here my son, ask him yourself if he wants to come outside.”

Loki stared up at Thor from where his head rested on Frigga’s lap, green eyes silent and watching. Thor met his eyes and looked quickly down, stammering out his question again. 

Loki had changed in recent months. Thor couldn’t quite place his finger on something exact which had changed, it was more like a shift. Loki didn’t play outside with him and Fandral nearly as much as he had before, he particularly shied away from any sort of roughhousing when before he had been the first to scrap playfully with the two older boys. His clothing had changed, he wore longer tunics over his leggings now, Thor couldn’t help but notice they were a little similar to what Sif wore and now, more than anywhere else, Loki was now to be found at the Queen’s side. 

“It’s just…Fandral’s caught some frogs and these are probably the last ones we’ll see before winter and I…we thought you’d like to see them too…”

Loki sat up at the mention of frogs, “Are they big ones?”

“One’s as big as my fist!”

And with that Loki was out of Frigga’s lap like a loosed arrow, racing Thor for the door. She chuckled, shaking her head. 

Fulla, the head of the Queen’s attendants and her closest friend sighed, “And we were making such progress…”

“It was a hopeless cause, friend. How can the role of Queen compete with frogs the size of a fist?”

“I know which I’d choose,” Fulla took a bite of cake and settled back on her cushion, “I was thinking on this last night, in fact my lady, and it occurred to me that apart from your good self there is very little of the feminine in Loki’s life right now.”

“Mmm, that is true.”

“In particular there are no young ladies for him to spend time with, friends are important influences on children at this age.”

The Queen looked askance at Fulla, “We have already tried this, remember? Sif was a failed experiment and he and Freya could hardly be described as friends…”

“There is no disputing that, my lady. I think the mistake there was introducing he and Sif too young, though we cannot have foreseen how much Sif would absorb the masculine energies from the other boys…” 

Frigga nodded, “At least she seems to have found her niche, I doubt she would have done well as a wife.”

“It is not for all, friend,” Fulla smiled warmly, squeezing the Queen’s knee, “Still, something must be done. He is reaching a critical age, my Lady, and if we don’t make a more concerted effort soon he will be lost to us, and Thor will ascend the throne without an Allmother to temper him!”

“A complete disaster!” Ulr, head seamstress, added sagely, nodding over her needlework. Ulr was more ancient than any of the other women present, almost as old as Eir, and she remembered well when Bor had taken the throne before taking a wife, he’d started three wars and almost razed Alfheim to the ground before the half Jotun Bestla and her steel will had pulled him back into line. 

“I gather you have a solution to this quandary though…” Frigga said, refilling her cup.

"Well, I have had some thoughts on this, and I think I have a suitable candidate to bring out Loki’s softer nature. My sister, Siguld, she has a girl just Loki’s age, well versed in all the feminine arts, clever and quick witted, she would be a perfect match for him.”

“What is her name?”

“Sigyn, my lady.”

Frigga sipped her tea and gave a shrug, “It cannot hurt to introduce them. In any case, Loki could use more friends of his own, rather than simply knowing all of Thor’s. Let her come to tea tomorrow, we shall introduce them.”

~*~*~

“Sigyn! Sigyn!”

Sigyn looked up from her dolls as her mother descended upon her, swallowing her up into a hearty hug against her plump bosom. 

“Mother! What is it?”

“Oh my blossom, you are truly blessed!” Siguld looked down at her cherished youngest child and only daughter, smiling warmly, “Who do you think that was at the front door?”

“It was Aunt Fulla, Mother, I heard her voice.”

“Yes! Yes, of course you did, clever girl! Do you know why she came?”

Sigyn shook her head, it wasn’t like Mother to be cryptic. 

“She came to speak about you, blossom. Tomorrow, you are going to meet the Queen.”

“Really?!” Sigyn gasped. The Queen! The Palace! She’d only been there once before, when she was much younger, she could barely remember why now, and it had been the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen! Her Mother and Father went often, her Father one of Odin’s treasury advisers but Sigyn had been deemed too young for all but the largest celebrations and she longed to go again. 

A thought occurred to Sigyn, “But…why Mother?”

“The Queen has chosen you personally to be companion to Prince Loki…provided you get along of course, which you will…for who could not like you?”

Siguld hugged Sigyn to her again, squeezing her tight. This was a great opportunity, one which could open many doors in Asgard to Sigyn’s lovely face. If she was well liked by Loki, the future Queen of Asgard, she could well one day sit as her Aunt Fulla did, as head Lady in Waiting in the Palace’s comfortable drawing rooms. An income, guaranteed for life, a chance to study with a talented seidr mage and all the well born young men of the palace for her to mingle with, no mother could wish for better for her daughter. 

“Come darling, we will wash your hair tonight; I’ll trim it for you a little as well. Then we can pick out what you will wear tomorrow. Oh, we’ll speak to your Father as well, you will need new clothes if you’re to attend the Palace regularly…”

~*~*~

Loki was in his favored place, head resting on the Queen’s lap, reading a new book, when Frigga pressed her hand to his shoulder. 

“Loki dear, there’s someone we’d like you to meet.”

Loki sat up slowly, taking in the new woman who’d appeared in the Queen’s bower, rather similar about the face to Fulla and sitting beside her a pretty girl Loki guessed was about his age. 

“Loki, this is Sigyn. Say good morning.”

“Good morning Sigyn.”

Sigyn said the same back, smiling. She was certainly very pretty, in the way which was valued in Asgard, all blond curls, blue eyes and sweetly round features. She was wearing a butter yellow dress, frothy white lace poking out at her wrists, neck and along the hemline, a single strand of small turquoise beads hanging around her neck. 

“Sigyn hasn’t been to the Palace in many years, and even then she didn’t get to see much. Would you like to show her your room, dear?”

“Alright.”

Loki stood, leading Sigyn out of the bower and deeper into the residential wing of the Palace. They walked in silence for some time, Loki feeling keenly the forced nature of their new ‘friendship.’ He wasn’t stupid, other children had been brought to both him and Thor in the past so they would have ‘friends’, some of the children had stayed like Fandral and Sif, others had only appeared once or twice before disappearing, never to be brought to see them again. 

“Every girl in the kingdom hates you, you know.”

Loki snapped around to look at Sigyn, confused and surprised by her candour. 

“Why?”

“Because _you’re_ going to marry Thor when you grow up. All the girls want to marry Thor so they can be Queen and drink tea and sit on silk cushions all day.”

Loki let this information sink in, not sure how to respond. They had reached his bedroom door, just down the hall from Thor’s, and he opened it, letting Sigyn walk in first. The girl gave a gasp as soon as she entered, running straight for the massive doll house (a beautifully detailed scale model of the Palace, standing taller than Loki himself) which dominated the back wall of Loki’s play room. 

“It’s beautiful!” Sigyn said, voice breathless, her hands clasped in front of her chest in wonder, “Can we play with it? Where are your dolls?”

“Oh…I have some in here…” Loki started rooting through his toy chest, still a little overwhelmed by Sigyn’s honestly to think to say no to her, “Not many though…”

In truth, Loki did not play with dolls often anymore, though they were still offered to him. He was usually given a choice when promised a new toy, a doll or some new puzzle or book, he usually found himself taking the puzzle or book these days. 

He handed Sigyn the set of dolls which went with the house, a fair little king, his dark haired queen and their children, and stood beside her as she started placing them in the Palace, watching carefully to make sure she didn’t disturb any of the furniture too much. Loki found dolls less interesting than he used to but could still spend hours arranging and rearranging the tiny furniture in the dollhouse, enjoying seeing all the tiny pieces, right down to the minuscule china plates in the kitchen, just so and in their proper place. 

They played in silence for a while, more beside each other than with each other, before Sigyn spoke again. 

“I don’t hate you though.”

Loki pushed the bed in one of the children’s rooms over so it sat under the window, “You don’t?”

“No. I don’t ever want to get married, especially not to Thor, I’ve seen him eat.”

Loki laughed at that, feeling the tension in the room ease, “You should see it up close. Food goes everywhere, it’s a wonder he gets anything in at all!”

Sigyn laughed back. Loki shifted where he stood, his eyes resting on Sigyn’s clothes again. 

“I like your necklace. It’s a pretty colour.”

“Do you want to try it on?”

Loki thought for a moment, “Maybe…in a little while.”

Four hours later and Sigyn and Loki had declared themselves best friends, having found they both shared a love of magic, the same sorts of books and a mutual admiration for Loki’s black pony. When Sigyn left that afternoon Loki hugged his arms around Frigga’s waist, begging her to let Sigyn come again, tomorrow if possible. 

Frigga chuckled, hugging Loki back, her eyes drawn to the turquoise beads wrapped around his wrist. 

~*~*~

Sigyn was not able to come the next day but she did come again on the weekend, bringing with her an armful of thin booklets. They settled in Loki’s playroom again, Sigyn spreading the booklets over the floor. 

“Come on, the new fashion plates are in and Mama said I can have three new dresses. Help me choose!”

Loki picked up the nearest booklet, on the cover a drawing of a plump little blonde girl in a deep purple dress. He had seen these before, there were usually a few scattered around the Queen’s drawing room, many of them appearing as the new fashion season started, though he had never seen ones for children. Clothes, as far as Loki knew, simply appeared in his closet. It had never occurred to him that he could choose garments to his own taste, or even that he would want to do so…

“What’s your favorite colour?” Sigyn asked him, flicking through one of the pamphlets. 

“Green,” Loki answered without a second thought, the colour of grass and leaves in the garden, of cool shade, his eyes here in Asgard, the old copper pots in Angrboda’s cave…

“Here, there’s a few green ones in this one here. Mine’s yellow…maybe pink…no, definitely yellow.”

Loki picked up the offered booklet, flipping through the pages. There weren’t just dresses inside, he recognized the tunic and leggings sets similar to what Sif and he wore, as well as sets of long wide pants and shorter tunics he sometime saw the Queen wearing in her private rooms when she wasn’t receiving anyone. 

His eyes settled on an illustration of a deep green dress worn by a tall girl with flowing red hair. The sleeves had a long bell and there was a pattern of small serpents, or maybe tiny dragons, embroidered around the hem of the skirt in gold thread. Loki stared at it for some time before turning the page, flicking through the other drawings of current fashion in the booklet before opening it to the page with the green dress again, tracing his fingers over the picture. 

“Can I have that one?” Sigyn was holding her hand out for the pamphlet Loki was holding. Loki instantly drew it in closer to himself, not sure why he didn’t want to give it up. 

“What? You can have it back if you’ve found something you like. Which one do you want?”

Loki felt heat rising in his face as Sigyn grabbed the edge of the booklet and pulled it down so she could look at his open page. 

“Ooh,” she nodded, “I like that one, dragons are very tidy this season, and it’s green, you like green. Here…”

Sigyn grabbed the page with the drawing and ripped it from the booklet with one swift movement before holding it out for Loki to take. 

“Now you can take it to the Queen and she can get it made for you.”

Loki stared at Sigyn, taking it from her hands and carefully smoothing where a corner had become wrinkled. 

“But…but it’s a dress…it’s for girls…”

Sigyn looked at him oddly, “So…what’s that got to do with anything?”

“I’m not a girl,” Loki answered simply.

“Mother says you’re a boy and a girl, all Jotuns are.”

Loki had no answer to that. It was true, on a physical level at least. But…he felt he was a boy, most of the time. He liked playing war games with Thor and digging in the mud with him and Fandral for the burrowing frogs down by the river, he liked being taught how to hold knife and sword by Tyr down on the training grounds. 

But (there were so many buts) he also increasingly liked sitting for hours in the Queen’s bower with the other ladies and reading quietly (something which would have driven Thor mad after a minute) he loved his dollhouse even though Fandral scoffed at it as a girl’s toy. And he loved to practice his scrying with Frigga, he had even taken some short lessons in weaving from her, where he had sat on her lap as she whispered into his ear how she divined the future from the movement of the threads. Did that make him a girl as well as a boy?

Tears started to cloud Loki’s vision. Why was everything so confusing here? Why did he have to choose? He didn’t want to give up his time with the Queen but he didn’t want to stop searching for frogs or his weapons training either and end up a snotty pain like Freya and her friends. 

A tear hit the page and Loki felt an arm slip around his shoulders. 

“What’s wrong?” Sigyn lent her head on Loki’s shoulder, “Why are you crying?”

“I-I don’t want to choose. I don’t want to be a girl or a boy! I don’t want to be anything!”

Sigyn was quiet for a moment, taking this in, “Do you have to choose?”

“Everyone wants me to.”

“But you don’t?”

Loki shook his head forcefully. 

“Then don’t!” Sigyn said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “You’re a Jotun, you can be whatever you want. Just…be a boy when you want to be a boy and be a girl when you want to be a girl. Sif’s a girl but she still fights and dresses like a boy, she does whatever she wants.”

He picked up the picture of the green dress again, “Thor will laugh at me if he sees me wearing this…”

“Then I’ll kick him in the stones!” Sigyn slapped her fist down on her other hand, resolute. A smile and something close to a laugh came out of Loki’s mouth.

“Thor’s stupid anyway,” she said, “What do you care what he thinks?”

Loki shrugged, “He’s not completely stupid. Sometimes at least…”

“You’re just saying that because you have to marry him. Come, help me choose the dresses I want, then we’ll go to kitchens, I might _die_ I'm so hungry.”

And so they did. After much deliberation Sigyn choose one yellow dress, a pink one and a blue one she would ask to be made in green fabric, to match Loki. After she left at the end of the day taking her fashion plates with her, Loki held on to the picture of the dress he liked, folding it precisely into quarters and placing it under his pillow that night when he went to sleep. 

The next morning the first thing he did was reach for picture and unfold it again, tracing his fingers over the embroidery at the hem. He had decided, anything which stayed in his mind this long had to be his. It took him two more days to work up the courage to show the Queen the picture though. He told himself he was waiting for his scrying lesson when he knew he and Frigga would be alone. 

Frigga took the page in her hand, regarding it and Loki carefully. She would have to proceed carefully; the plan with Sigyn was working though it would not be wise to show too much enthusiasm for Loki’s interest in the feminine lest he feel pushed in that direction and pull away from it. 

She nodded slowly, “This is very fine, you have a good eye for colour and shape, my dear. Of course, we will make some small changes for you.”

“Changes?”

“Oh yes, the colour and the embroidery can stay but perhaps we could change the neckline, round instead of square, maybe make the skirt a little slimmer to make it easier for you to run around, otherwise Fandral will start beating you in your running races,” she gave Loki a little nudge with her elbow and chuckled when she saw him smile. 

Frigga stood and went to her bookshelf, running her index finger along the books before pulling one out, flicking it through the page until she settled on one, holding it out for Loki to look at.

“You see, a little like this…”

Loki looked down at the picture. It showed mages and witches, standing around, all wearing the same slim cut style of robe, men and women alike. He traced his fingers over the image of a Svartalf mage dressed all in grey with a long string of pearls around his neck. 

“Would you like me to send for Ulr, so she can take some measurements from you?”

“Yes please Allmother.”


	3. Curiosity and Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Loki and Sigyn become closer, Thor is frustrated and Fandral gets what's coming to him.

“Now son…” the Allfather knelt down to look his son in the eye, “Loki and your mother are coming soon…”

“Of course they are, Father, we always have dinner together.”

“I know that, foolish boy! I’m just telling you, when they get here, no matter what Loki looks like or what you think of what he’s wearing, you tell him he looks very nice this evening, you hear me?” Odin gripped Thor’s shoulder with one hand, tried to neaten his son’s messy hair with the other. 

“What’s Loki going to be wearing?”

“Stop asking questions. It doesn’t matter what he’s wearing as long as you do as your told. Now, what do you say when they come in?”

“Good evening mother. Hello Loki. You look very nice this evening,” Thor recited, words coming stiffly. 

Why were adults so odd? He didn’t care what Loki wore, he didn’t care what anyone wore! What he did care about was the Loki was spending all of his time with Sigyn now. Loki was his best friend! He should play with him all the time, not with annoying Sigyn who thought she was soooo smart. It wasn’t fair. 

“Good boy. Now sit down, they’ll be here soon.”

Odin put a heavy hand on Thor’s shoulder, squeezing it fondly as his son sat down at his place at the table. He was a good boy, a little pig headed at times and quick to temper, but a good boy. He just had to say his lines tonight and Frigga’s little plan would be right on track: Loki would grow into a fine Allmother, he and Thor would marry and the treaty with Jotunheim would be completed. 

Frigga was holding Loki’s hand as she entered from the Queen’s wing of the palace. She smiled as she tugged him along.

“Ah, good evening dear. I hope we aren’t too late,” Frigga smiled (Loki had had a little trouble with the new undergarments he had to wear, stockings were a little more complicated than at first they appeared). 

“Not at all, my fig,” Odin kicked Thor under the table, a not so gentle reminder. 

Thor started from where he had been staring. Loki was…he was wearing a dress! He looked like a girl, especially with his hair brushed into a side part, just like the other maidens wore it, and that pearl bracelet about his wrist. But…why? Loki was a boy, just like him. Why was he dressing like a girl now?

Another kick from his father, harder this time, forced him to remember his lines. 

“G-ood evening mother. Hello Loki, you look…very nice this evening.”

Loki looked up at Thor, giving a small smile. He looked nervous, pulling at the sleeves of his green dress. The bracelet he wore felt heavy on his wrist and the small velvet slippers he wore (“For dinner and inside only, dear, you’ll ruin them if you wear them outside”) were strange and too delicate around his feet. 

Odin beamed, giving Thor a hearty slap on the back, “You do indeed, little Loki. Now come you two, sit down, we’re starving.”

~*~*~

“I just don’t understand,” Thor reached deep into the mud, wriggling his fingers in his best imitation of a tasty fat worm to try and attract the burrowing frogs to them where they could be pulled out and into his and Fandral’s ‘Frog Box’. 

“You don’t understand what?”

“Loki. I mean, why does he dress like a girl now? And why is he always with Sigyn and mother and why doesn’t he want to play with us anymore?” Thor felt the telltale sucking at the end of his finger and pulled his hand out of the mud with a snap, pulling a sad looking small frog with it. 

The frog dropped off the end of his finger, croaked and then burrowed down into the mud again. Bah. It was too small for the Frog Box anyway, barely worth a mention. 

Fandral looked at Thor, “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

“About Jotuns. Loki’s a Jotun you know.”

Thor rolled his eyes, “Don’t be stupid Fandral, I know Loki’s a Jotun, he only goes back there every summer.”

“No, I mean about Jotuns,” Fandral pulled his hands out of the mud, frogless, “They’re different from us you know.”

“How do you mean?”

Fandral shifted closer, looking over his shoulder to make sure they were alone, “You know how every Aesir is either a man or a woman. Well, on Jotunheim, there is no such difference. Over there, everyone has a cock and…” he looked around again, dropping his voice to a whisper, “…a cunt.”

“What?!” Thor’s eyes went wide, “You mean…Loki has a…”

Fandral nodded sagely, “He does. And that’s not the only thing! Jotuns, they have both, but some go by he and some go by she. If a Jotun wants to go from a boy to a girl, their cocks drop off!”

“No!”

“Yes! And when they want to be boy again they can grow it back. I heard it, it’s true. My brother told me.”

Thor looked skeptical. Fandral’s older brother was known to lead them astray with his tales. And what would he know about Jotuns? He was 15, he’d never been in the war…

“So that’s what I think has happened. Loki’s decided he wants to be a girl now, I don’t know why, he’s dropped his cock and now he dresses like a maid. It’s probably for the best you know, he has to be your wife eventually after all. Do you think he’ll grow bosoms next?”

“I don’t believe you,” Thor stood up, wiping the mud off his knees as best he could. He picked up the Frog Box and upended it into the soft mud, letting the few frogs they’d caught today free. 

“You can not believe me all you like, doesn’t make it any less true,” Fandral said, getting up himself, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the training yard to talk to Volstagg. He’ll know the truth, he’s actually seen a Jotun, unlike your stupid brother.”

Fandral ran after him, “Fine. He’ll only confirm what I just said. You’ll see!”

Volstagg was easy to find on the training grounds, towering as he did over the other men there. Thor and Fandral climbed up on the fence which surrounded the main sparring arena and waved to him, trying to get his attention. Volstagg was one of Thor’s trainers in weapons, in particular the sword, when Tyr was unable to teach and his easy nature and kind temper made him one of Thor’s favorites. 

“Volstagg!” Thor called, finally getting the older man’s attention, “Volstagg, come here!”

“Hello young Prince, Fandral!” Volstagg approached, wide smile on his face, “What brings you here today? I don’t think we have a lesson…”

“No, we don’t. Fandral and I, we wanted to ask you some questions,” Thor and Fandral exchanged a look. 

“Oh really? How can I be of service, my Prince?”

“You were in the war, weren’t you Volstagg?”

“I was indeed.”

“So…you’d know all about…Jotuns…”

Volstagg raised one eyebrow, “Well…I don’t claim to be an expert on the subject but I have some experience of them, yes. The pointy ends of them in particular…”

Thor and Fandral shared a look again, Thor biting his lower lip, “So…is it true then…about Jotuns being…you know…”

“Being what?”

“You know,” Thor lent closer, whispering in Volstagg’s ear, “Both. Having both sets of parts.”

Volstagg’s eyes went wide, he blinked, paused for a moment, “Your highness, I really think this is something you should speak to you father on.”

“No! No!” Thor shook his head forcefully, Fandral joining him. The very thought was terrifying. If they asked him then Father would want to know why they wanted to know, Thor would of course admit the reason, then Fandral would be sent away and Thor would have endure another one of his Father’s talks, the ones about how Loki was a ‘precious gem sent from Jotunheim for them to care for,’ that Thor must pay him the utmost respect, not just to Loki personally, but to his purity as well (whatever that meant) as Loki was his future wife. 

Then there would be a lot of vague talk about growing up, bees and flowers, and the beauty of the marriage bed, none of which Thor really understood. All he really knew was that he would find no answers there, only a strange burning shame deep inside himself, as if he had done something wrong just in the asking. 

“We can’t ask Father about this,” Thor said firmly, Fandral nodding in agreement. “Please Volstagg, you always say we can come to you to speak on any subject…”

Volstagg gave a heavy breath out of his nose, he hadn’t quite meant this when he’d said that. He more had in mind discussing the best choice of armor or maybe helping Thor with his lessons…

“Well…one question…maybe two. But anything I tell you, you did not hear from me!”

Thor and Fandral both nodded rapidly, Fandral crossing his index fingers over his mouth to show his lips were sealed. 

“Alright…what was the question again?”

“Is it true that Jotuns are boys and girls at the same time?”

“If you mean they have the organs of both a man and woman, then yes, they are both,” Volstagg answered. There, that wasn’t so hard was it?

“Ha! Told you!” Fandral said to Thor, triumphant, “And it’s true they can drop their cocks when they want to be a girl, isn’t it Volstagg?”

Volstagg stared at Fandral for quite some time before speaking, “What? No! Where did you hear such rot boy? Your brother again, wasn’t it?”

Fandral went pink over the cheeks, Thor held back the urge to gloat. There would be time for that later, he still had one questions he wanted to ask…

“So…Volstagg, if all Jotuns are boys and girls, then does that mean Loki…is he?”

Volstagg twisted his mouth, he really didn’t wish to overstep his bounds here, it was really something Thor should hear from his Father. Augh, but the look on the boy’s face, he seemed so confused, thirteen was not an easy age to begin with without the confusion of an intended bride who was both male and female…

In the end, Volstagg chose his words carefully, “Loki is as any other Jotun, my Prince. The only difference between them and him is his size.”

Volstagg watched the boy’s face carefully as he took this in, waiting with trepidation for the next question (not about sex, please, just not about sex…). 

Thor chewed at his thumb nail, he thought for some time, “So…is that why Loki dresses as one of the maids now? Because he’s…both?”

Volstagg breathed out a sigh of relief, “Perhaps, my Prince. He may simply dress that way because it pleases him to do so. Maybe you should ask him yourself…”

Thor put his head down on his hands on the edge of the fence, “Maybe…Loki doesn’t play with us anymore though. He only wants to sit inside or play with Sigyn.”

“Ah, you’re both growing up, your Highness,” Volstagg ruffled Thor’s hair, “Sometimes things change…”

Thor scowled, “Why though? Why does he have to change? I’m the same! Everything’s the same except him!”

Volstagg shrugged, “That is a question I cannot answer I am afraid, your Highness. Come now, both of you are filthy, come and clean up and then you can eat with us…”

~*~*~

Sigyn and Loki ran down into the garden, their soft slippers forgotten on the steps leading into the Palace. Loki led her deep into one of the mazes, brushing his fingers against the hedge leaves. 

“Do you really think I look alright?” Loki asked, picking up the long bell of his sleeves and swinging them. 

“Oh yes, you’re super tidy. I like the green,” Sigyn nodded, leaning against the opposite hedge wall, “So come on…you were gonna show me…”

Loki smirked, “You really want to see? It’s not nearly as interesting as you think it is…”

“You promised! We’re best friends aren’t we?”

“Well…alright…” Loki looked around one more time as he reached under his skirts and dropped his short clothes onto the ground then pulling up his skirts to his hips. 

Sigyn squatted down on the ground, looking at Loki’s small soft cock and stones. Loki lifted them up, showing Sigyn the crease of flesh behind them, just like hers. 

Sigyn giggled and let out a little squeal, “It’s true! Oh my, it’s really true!”

Loki rolled his eyes, picking up his short pants and wriggling back into them, “You Aesir are crazy. My nurse back on Jotunheim, Angrboda, she says the reason you lot only have half a set each is because you angered the Ancient Gods.”

“Really?”

“Mmm hmm. You were greedy, you wanted the best land, the fattest beasts to eat, the most knowledge and the most pleasing forms. Each thing your ancestors asked for you were given but in the end you asked for too much and the Ancients visited their rage upon you. They ripped your bodies apart and cursed you to walk the Realms half formed for the rest of time.”

“Really…” Sigyn tilted her head, she wan’t quite sure she believed that, “What is Jotunheim like?”

“It’s beautiful, the most beautiful of the Realms!”

“More beautiful than here?”

“Oh yes. My father always says that Asgard may be the shining city, but Utgard glitters in even the dullest light. It’s all made of crystal and white stone, you know?”

“Wow…perhaps I’ll go one day,” Sigyn said, rocking back on her heels, thinking for a moment, “So…if you have…you know, one like mine…do you get the…” she whispered, “…the red week?”

Loki looked around again before nodding, “I’ve had it twice. Have you..?”

“Not yet. Mother says hers did not start until she was 13 and we are very like, so probably not for a year or two. What’s it like?” Sigyn stepped closer, taking Loki’s hand and leading him out of the maze. It was exciting to have someone to speak to about such things, Sigyn only had brothers and her lessons group had few girls her own age in it as well, the closest to her in age was three years her junior and completely uninterested in such topics. 

Loki shrugged, “It’s not pleasant but it’s not the worst of tortures. Your stomach aches, my neck aches sometimes as well, no matter how you place the cloths you always end up with stains on your shorts and sometimes I just want to sleep all day. The Queen lets me spend the whole day with her during that time though, she says it’s important. I don’t have to go to lessons with Thor or anything!”

“Really?” Sigyn didn’t mind the sound of that, “What do you do?”

“We practice magic, she teaches me about being Queen…sometimes I have jobs.”

“Jobs…? Like what?”

“Yes, the Queen gives me special tasks,” Loki couldn’t keep the pride out of his voice, “You must not tell anyone of this though, it’s a secret. Usually it’s just taking things from people’s rooms anyway.”

“Taking things?”

“We always put them back, so it’s not stealing. And it’s just bits of paper usually anyway, nothing anyone would miss but it’s very important work. She told me there’s no-one else she’d choose to do it, especially not Thor, he’s not quiet enough.”

“Well…if you put them back that’s alright…” Sigyn nodded to herself, swinging Loki’s hand back and forth, “And the Allmother would never do anything bad anyway…”

“Exactly! Everything she does is for the good of Asgard,” Loki recited, he knew that line well. They reached the mouth of the maze again and looked out of the gardens. Loki blinked in the brighter light of the garden, it was the height of noon but lunch was usually not served for another hour, he wiped a hand over his forehead, it was a hot day for autumn, “What do you want to do now?”

“Can we go see your pony again?”

Loki was about to reply when their attention was drawn across the garden, Thor and Fandral jumping over the back gate, each with a large roasted bird’s leg and small loaves of bread in their hands. Fandral spotted Loki and Sigyn and strutted over, tearing a large mouthful of meat off the drumstick he held as he approached. 

“Well,” he said around his mouthful of meat, giving a mock bow, “If it isn’t the two prettiest laaaaaadies in all of Asgard.”

Loki rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything back, his eyes caught by the meat and bread Thor and Fandral had. 

“Where did you get that?” Loki asked, nodding to Thor’s food as he ripped a chunk out of his loaf of bread. Loki’s mouth watered…lunch was an age away…

“We have been eating with the warriors,” Fandral replied for them, his nose in the air, “As we should, because we’re men.”

Sigyn scoffed. Loki took a step closer to Thor, “Give me half your bread Thor, I’m starving…”

Thor looked up at Loki from where he was occupied with his turkey leg, he held it in his mouth and made to rip his loaf of bread in half before Fandral stopped him, holding his hand in place. 

“No! You’re not allowed. This is men’s food, which we get to eat because we’re men. Ladies eat inside. Go get some cake if you’re hungry.”

Loki frowned, he looked back over at Thor who looked back at him, hands still holding his bread as if to break it. 

“I’m not a lady, Fandral! Come on Thor, please. I’m hungry…”

Thor looked at Fandral who was giving him a firm look back, lips pressed together. He looked down at the bread in his hands. He looked over at Loki again with his hair pulled back from his head but hanging loose like a maiden’s, his new dress. The anger he had felt earlier came back to him. No! Loki didn’t get to live in both worlds! He didn’t get to spend all of his time with Mother and Sigyn and dress that way and then get to take the food from his hands!

Thor grunted and, in three quick bites, managed to shove the whole loaf of bread into his mouth. Fandral turned back to Loki and Sigyn, triumphant.

“Ha! There! Now off you run maidens, I’m sure there’s some needlepoint which needs doing somewhere…” Fandral waved his hand dismissively at Loki and Sigyn, biting into his drumstick again. 

“You’re such an ass, Fandral,” Sigyn snapped back, “I think being a maiden is better than being a nasty little boy who won’t share!”

Fandral took another large bite of food, spraying it out when he spoke next, “Goodness you have a nasty temper, Sigyn, foul mouth too. Aren’t you all meant to be quiet and reticent? Patient and gentle, pleasing to the eye…”

Sigyn clenched her fists, Fandral laughing again and Thor joining him as her face turned red. 

“You’re just a stupid boy!” Sigyn yelled. Loki looked at her wide eyed. 

“Now now, no need for hysteria. Is this one of those difficult times you ladies have,” Fandral turned to Thor, speaking conspiratorially, “I know all about those too, my brother told me…”

Fandral didn’t get to finish his sentence, Sigyn crossing the distance between them in a flash and landing a hearty kick to the boy’s balls, just as she had promised she would do to Thor if he ever made fun of Loki’s clothes. 

Fandral’s eyes bugged out, for a moment he didn’t move. Loki gave a high pitched nervous laugh, as the food Fandral had been chewing fell out of his open mouth. Then Fandral gave an anguished cry, falling to the ground clutching his damaged genitals. 

“You witch! You cruel, awful witch!” Fandral howled, rolling onto his side.

“Serves you right!” Loki snapped, folding his arms and giving Thor a hard glare as well for good measure.

“I was just having fun! You took it too far! Gods, Thor, get a healer! I’m dying. That witch has killed me!”

Thor was kneeling by Fandral’s side, he looked up at Loki and Sigyn, thunder on his face, “You shouldn’t have done that! He’s really hurt!”

“He should not have behaved like a pig,” Loki took Sigyn’s hand again, “Come Sigyn, let’s go inside.”

“Wait!” Thor stood up, “Where are you going?”

“Oh, off to find some needlepoint I suppose…” Loki said with a sneer, picking up his and Sigyn’s pace. 

Thor yelled after them, Loki not hearing his words as he started running, Sigyn laughing as they ran up the stairs, grabbing their shoes and making a run for Loki’s room.


	4. The Pipe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Loki and Sigyn are total badasses and Thor is a royal pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference Loki and Sigyn are now 14 and Thor is 16.

“Come on, hurry.” 

Loki had Sigyn by the hand, dragging her behind the stables where it was cool and dark, shaded by old gnarled trees and thick bushes, perfect for hiding.

“Do you think anyone saw us?” Loki hitched his skirts up around his knees, keeping them out of the dirt. 

“No. No one comes behind here,” Sigyn peeped through a tree branch, their view of the stable yard showing two bored stable boys kicking a bucket between them. They hadn’t been seen. 

“Good,” Loki looked through the branches as well, giving one final check before pulling the reason for their secrecy out from the inner pocket of his robe. 

A pipe, long and thin, meant for the delicate hand of a lady and a pouch of fine Dwarven tobacco. Sigyn tucked her own skirts into her short clothes, following Loki’s lead to prevent their secret past time from being revealed. She flicked her golden hair back over her shoulder and watched Loki light the pipe, a single flame appearing from the tip of his index finger.

“The Allfather said not yesterday that pipe smoking was unseemly in a lady…” Sigyn smirked and watched Loki take the first drag of the pipe. 

“It’s a good thing I am no lady then.” He breathed in the smoke deeply, visibly relaxing as he blew out through his nose. 

Sigyn took a drag, “You sit with the ladies…you dress as a lady as well…”

“I dress like _me_ ,” Loki held out his hand for the pipe back, “and there is no-one like me…on Asgard at least.”

Sigyn snorted a laugh, “Speaking of which, everyone is still talking about the latest ‘installment.’”

“Of course they are. That’s the point, isn’t it?” Loki flicked his hair triumphantly, looking smug as he remembered the stunned faces of the whole Court as he has entered with the latest installment of his dowry. 

“An eight legged horse though? Where did your Father even find one?”

“Svartalfheim. They breed them for the kings of the Dark Elves to ride. Rather fitting that the Allfather should have one for his own, don’t you agree?”

“You know Freya will never forgive you, her name day party is in a few days, you’ve completely overshadowed it.” Sigyn held out her hand for the pipe and took a few deep breaths. 

“Have I now? How could I possibly have forgotten something as important as that?” Loki gave a wicked smirk. What would life be without having Freya and her little band of sycophants angry at him? It kept things…interesting. 

They smoked in silence for a while, enjoying the quiet and relishing in their disobedience. The sound of boots on the dirt, a twig snapped under them, made both their heads snap around to the sound. 

“Loki…” Thor called out, “Are you back here?”

“Argh!” Loki snarled, grabbing the pipe from Sigyn and throwing it behind them into the bushes. Thor would tell, Thor _always_ told. Sigyn pulled her skirts back out from where she had tucked them into her pantalets, helping Loki rearrange his own clothing just as Thor poked his big Aesir head through the thicket and into their hiding place. 

“Loki...Lady Sigyn, what are you both doing back here?”

“It is none of your concern, Thor!” Loki snapped. By Mimir’s swollen head, why did he have to be betrothed to such a meddlesome, obstinate, thick headed…

“Have you been smoking back here? I can smell it.”

“No we haven’t!” Loki tucked his tobacco pouch into his sleeve, “You think I would deliberately disobey the words of the Allfather? Just yesterday he spoke on the dangers of tobacco to young women!”

“It stunts the growth and breeds small, weak children,” Sigyn offered, folding her arms. 

“Exactly! And you think I would partake in such a vulgar thing? I am surprised at you Thor, I thought you had better opinion of your betrothed than this. No, I am hurt more than anything…”

Sigyn tugged at Loki’s sleeve, “Uh…Loki…”

“Not now Sigyn. You have wounded me deeply Odinson, I am not sure I can ever forgive you but perhaps if you offered to reorganize my library I would consider-“

“Loki! The bush is on fire!” Sigyn screeched, roughly grabbing Loki’s arm as the dried out thicket behind them caught properly alight, flames running up the dry leaves as if they were tinder. 

“Gods! Get out of there!” Thor grabbed a hold of Sigyn by the wrist and Loki about the waist, pulling them both roughly out of the thicket as the flames started to spread. 

Loki pulled himself free from Thor’s arms as soon as they were clear of the trees, turning quickly and inhaling, centering himself as he had been taught, then breathing out a long, ice cold breath of air which overwhelmed the small blaze and soon had it out. 

Sigyn grabbed Loki’s arm as he stumbled, weakened after using so much seidr without time to properly prepare himself. 

“Loki!” Thor was beside him as well, “Are you hurt?”

“I am fine…just a moment…” Loki let Sigyn lead him to the stable wall and lent against it, waiting until his head felt less light before speaking again.

“I suppose you’re going to tell on us now?” Loki’s voice was defiant, narrowing his eyes at Thor.

“I don’t always tell…” Thor growled, “And you’re not very grateful considering I just saved your lives!”

“Saved our lives!? It wasn’t you putting the fire out Thor. I had everything perfectly under control until you started yanking us around!”

“It didn’t feel like you had everything under control when you were leaping into my arms.”

“Leaping…ugh!” Loki spluttered, “The smoke must have addled your tiny mind Odinson, there was no leaping into arms! Just you manhandling me!” Loki stalked over to Thor, “And you _do_ always tell!”

“I don’t but I’m starting to want to!” Thor stood a head taller than Loki and he used this to his advantage, stretching himself out and towering over his betrothed. 

Loki and Sigyn shared a look. Getting in trouble again, so soon on the heels of Loki’s harmless little experiment on Frigga’s goats (making them lactate orange juice) would not be received well by either of their parents. 

Thor must have seen the look. He chewed on his bottom lip, looked around him to make sure there was no-one else nearby. “I won’t tell this time…if you do something for me…”

Loki raised one dark eyebrow, “Like what?” Ugh, it was probably going to be polishing his armor for the next six months or writing out his school work, brushing his horse for him maybe, something thankless and time consuming…

Thor gave one more look around them, certain they were alone, and then stepped closer to Loki, “I won’t tell…if you give me a kiss.”

Loki’s eyes went wide. Sigyn giggled beside him. 

“You can’t be serious, Thor.”

“I am. I won’t tell anyone about the smoking or the fire if you kiss me. Just once…but a proper one.”

A kiss was certainly less taxing than polishing all of Thor’s armor. Not to mention it would definitely be better than another of his father’s “I am quite disappointed in your behaviour, my darling” letters…

“Do you swear not to tell…and it would only be one…?”

“Well…unless you beg me for more,” Thor had advanced a few paces on Loki who was leaning back against the stable wall again.

Loki laughed, “Oh yes…I’ll be begging shall I?”

“I’ve been told I’m very good at kissing,” Thor smiled. 

“Oh really? Kissed many people have you?”

“Oh, dozens… maybe hundreds.” (None.) 

“Me as well. Definitely hundreds.” (Also none.) 

“Really? Hundreds?” Thor’s face fell. 

“Do you wish to kiss me or not?” Loki asked. Thor answered with a quick nod. “Alright then, you have a deal Odinson. Sigyn, go and keep a look out.”

Sigyn laughed again, sticking her tongue out and waving it obscenely at the couple as she walked to the corner of the stable block to keep an eye out for any interlopers. 

Thor shifted closer to Loki as soon as Sigyn was out of earshot, resting a hand on Loki’s slim waist, “I missed you while you were gone. The Palace is boring when you are away.”

“Do you wish to kiss me or do you wish to talk, Thor? Get on with it!”

“Alright, alright! Close your eyes…”

Loki did as he was told, closing his eyes and puckering his lips juuuuust a little as he waited for Thor to make his next move. 

Thor hesitated only a moment before leaning in and pressing his lips against Loki’s. Loki stiffened, feeling Thor’s arm slide around his waist and pull him closer. The heat from Thor’s body was almost overwhelming, like standing too close to a fire. His hand came up and gripped Thor’s tunic, trying to find something to anchor himself to. 

Thor felt Loki relax in his arms and pulled him closer, his hand coming up to sit heavy on Loki’s neck. Loki let out a little moan, his mouth falling open slightly, Thor seizing the opportunity to slip his tongue inside Loki’s mouth. 

He could taste the tobacco on Loki’s tongue, the woody Dwarven stuff favored by women of the Court, as well as something sweet and minty, something slightly cold which sent a shiver up his spine. He tasted Loki’s briefly, all too briefly, before Loki was pushing his hands against Thor’s chest, breaking the kiss. 

Loki was out of breath when Thor opened his eyes, his eyes wide and pupils almost eclipsing the green of his irises. Thor held onto his for just a moment longer before letting Loki slip out of his arms. 

“Yes…well…”Loki smoothed down his hair, “I trust that was sufficient…”

Thor opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. 

“That’s what I thought,” Loki ran a hand over his chest, adjusting his clothes, “Well…I will see you at dinner then?”

Thor nodded, his tongue still dead in his mouth. 

“Very good,” Loki was already walking to where Sigyn stood waiting, interlocking his arm with hers. Loki looked back over his shoulder at Thor one last time, teasing, leaning down to whisper in Sigyn’s ear before speaking to him one last time,

“Farewell Thor.”


End file.
